Mansonelliasis, a neglected parasitic disease in Haiti

Reported in Haiti as early as 1923, Mansonella ozzardi is still a neglected disease ignored by the health authorities of the country. This review is an update on the geographic distribution of the coastal foci of mansonelliasis in Haiti, the epidemiological profile and prevalence rates of microfilariae in people living in endemic areas, the clinical impact of the parasite on health and the efficiency of the transmission of the parasite among three Culicoides biting-midge species identified as vectors in Haiti. Additionally, interest in establishing a treatment programme to combat this parasite using a single dose of ivermectin is emphasised.

A NMRI SUCKLING MOUSE MODEL FOR THE EVALUATION OF INFECTIVITY OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM PARVUM OOCYSTS / 中国寄生虫学与寄生虫病杂志

[Objective] To evaluate the infectivity of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in NMRI suckling mouse.[Methods] Four-day- old SPF NMRI suckling mice were inoculated with different amounts of oocysts by oral gavage.On clay 7 after inoculation, suckling mice were sacrificed, and a suspension was prepared by homogenizing the intestinal tract from pylorus to anus. A mouse was considered infected when oocysts were found in smears of the intestinal content suspension stained with carbo lfuchsin solution. The infectivity of oocysts was evaluated as measured by the percentage of infected mice in each group. [Results] Mice receiving 1 500 or 2 000 oocysts were all infected. The percentages of infected mice were 88, 74, 51 and 28 respectively after ingestion of 1 000, 500, 250 and 100 oocysts. The percentage of infected mice was 9.5 % after ingesting as few as 50 oocysts. [Conclusion] This model is convenient for evaluation of the infectivity of C. parvum oocysts.

Hemolitic aspects of strains and clones of trichomonas vaginalis

Se investigó la actividad hemolítica de 11 cepas y 6 clones vivos de trichomonas vaginalis. Las cepas y los clones fueron subsecuentemente estudiados frente a los eritrocitos de 7 especies animales adultas. Cada una da 11 cepas y 6 clones lisó los eritrocitos de todos los grupos sanguineos humanos, lo mismo que los de conejo, rata, pollo, caballo, bovino y ovino. No se detectó la liberación de hemolisina por el parásito (cepas y clones). Los resultados sugieren que la acividad hemolítica no es debida a la liberación de hemolisina por la T. vaginalis o por un producto de su metabolismo

Hemolytic activity of Trichomonas vaginalis and Titrichomonas foetus

The hemolytic activity of live isolates and clones of Trichomonas vaginalis and Tritrichomonas foetus was investigated. The isolates were tested against human erythrocytes. No hemolytic activity was detected by the isolates of T. foetus. Whereas the isolates of T. vaginalis lysed erythrocytes from all human blood groups. No hemolysin released by the parasites could be detected. Our preliminary results suggest than hemolysis depend on the susceptibility of red cell membranes to destabilization and the intervention of cell surface receptors as a mechanism of the hemolytic activity. The mechanism could be subject to strain-species-genera specific variation of trichomonads. The hemolytic activity of T. vaginalis is not due to a hemolysin or to a product of its metabolism. Pretreatment of trichomonads with concanavalin A reduced levels of hemolysis by 40 por cento.